We recently used ICA's team to restore a textile in our collection in bad need of repair to increase its longevity and the team was so excellent to work with! When I came for the initial 30 minute assessment, everyone was warm and friendly, and there was no pressure or expectation to use their services whatsoever. I felt so comfortable leaving the piece in the care of Marika, who provided regular updates and let me come visit about halfway through the treatment to see how it was progressing. I was impressed with the quality of the treatment conducted, the documentation provided, and would 100% return to ICA for any conservation needs for items in my collection, textiles or not. We're really fortunate to have such a high-quality conservation firm local to us in Cleveland, Ohio! Many of my colleagues across the country are not as fortunate and they have to travel great distances to find firms as good as ICA for their conservation needs.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with ICA-Art Conservation for nearly 13 years and have been consistently impressed by their expertise and dedication to preserving art and cultural artifacts. Each individual of the ICA team, past and present staff members, has blossomed into long friendships. The conservators at ICA are incredibly knowledgeable and always willing to provide valuable advice for the collections I manage.
The team at ICA brings an exceptional level of skill and passion to their work. Every visit to the lab is inspiring, as I witness their dedication to a wide range of projects. They apply state-of-the-art techniques, underpinned by extensive research, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of multiple scientific fields to carefully preserve history.
They see conservation as an opportunity not only to protect and restore but also to educate and share their love of art, history, and science. Supporting their hard work and services is truly rewarding.
If you’re interested in preserving cultural history, I highly recommend visiting ICA’s lab, meeting their talented team, and exploring their conservation/preservation services. Their work is truly magic in action, and supporting them, whether through donations or spreading the word, is a meaningful way to help protect our shared heritage.
Cleveland Public Library (325 Superior Avenue) has relied on the professional expertise of ICA Art Conservation for more than twenty-five years. ICA's knowledgeable staff has conserved countless paintings, paper-based items, and sculpture over the course of that time, in addition to advising the Library regarding the care of its collection of more than 11 million items. ICA recently restored damaged letters on the "Reading a Garden" fountain installation in Library's Eastman Reading Garden. The fountain installation is by artist Maya Lin and poet Tan Lin. ICA also recently provided the annual cleaning and waxing of the monumental bronze gates and related sculptures at the entrances to Eastman Reading Garden. The gates are by artist Tom Otterness and poet Tan Lin.
It is my privilege and pleasure to serve on the ICA Board. Since joining the team more than a year ago, I have been impressed by the diverse level of skill and expertise on the talented ICA team. Every trip to the lab is a treat. The passion of this team is evident as they share the wide range of projects they have in process at any time. They are preserving the past using state of the art techniques, developed from extensive research, keen eye for detail and the melding of many modern sciences. Whether watching Andrea and Wendy restore the vibrancy of a classic work of art or a cherished family painting; Claire reconstruct a damaged sculpture with Jordan offering creative shipping and crating solutions; Marika consulting her extensive stash of supplies to repair a well-worn textile; or Kate P. cleaning and restoring the most delicate treasures and historic documents - you can experience true magic right before your eyes. Every member of the ICA team, including Sheila, Kate M. and Executive Director Holly Witchey, love what they do and recognize their work as an opportunity to not only protect and restore our cultural artifacts but also to teach and share their love of history, science, art - and solving interesting and unique conservation problems. To watch them work and be able to support what they do is truly gratifying. I encourage anyone interested in protecting our cultural history to come check out the lab, meet the team, engage their expertise and conservation services, donate and/or tell a friend!
Ours is a small, private museum, but you wouldn't know that when ICA confers with us. The Firelands Historical Society is treated with patient interest in our various projects. Options are offered to accomodate our budget constraints, and those of our financial supporters. The staff puts forth their professional best, and we have always been pleased with the results. Whenever someone asks, where can I go to have this professionally evaluated? We know: its ICA.
For decades, the ICA has partnered with Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens to preserve and restore the exquisite artifacts donated by the heirs of F.A. Seiberling, co-founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The dedicated conservation experts at ICA have meticulously handled hundreds of artworks, including paintings, textiles, and objects. They have also provided invaluable training and advice on proper handling and storage. It’s fantastic to have their expertise close at hand.
The Edison Birthplace Association has worked with ICA several times and have been nothing short of thoroughly delighted every time we have. The ICA restored our Edison Talking Doll and the results were amazing. This past year, we worked with Marika in regards to 2 of Mrs. Mina Edison's dresses. Marika explained and walked me through the process of freezing the lace graduation gown to eliminate carpet beetle larvae that were found. She gave me the confidence to get the job done. In addition, ICA transported Mina's ball gown to Cleveland because of extensive damage done to it over time. The consultants have been so generous with their time and knowledge. Any time we reach out, they immediately get back to us, putting us in touch with the expert we require for the job. We cannot recommend ICA highly enough and look forward to working with them in the future.
Incredibly talented and dedicated pros. Thorough understanding of their craft: what they don’t know they research until they do. Very impressive organization.
As a career museum registrar, I have depended on Intermuseum Conservation Association for the best counsel in collection care for decades. Their conservators are generous with their time and expertise, offering free advice on the phone and in person. I am not aware of any for-profit conservators who provide this service. Many for-profit conservators charge a fee for a consultation, whether or not conservation treatment is ultimately recommended, which can be cost-prohibitive for a small museum or historical society. Further, Intermuseum Conservation Association has presented many educational programs over the years, at low or no cost. Their seminars on collection storage, wet salvage, care of religious artifacts and identification and housing of works on paper have been invaluable.
It is clear when you first walk through the door that the ICA has a talented and professional staff. The ICA has trained conservators in textiles, paintings, paper and objects. The staff will give a free 30 minute consultation to their clients and educational outreach in conservation, preservation and disaster response to the Cleveland and Ohio areas. The treatment that comes out of the ICA is museum quality art conservation treatment. Cleveland is lucky to have the ICA as a resource.
ICA-Art Conservation is a wonderful organization. They are dedicated to the preservation of artistic and cultural heritage and are a critical resource for Ohio and the surrounding region. The staff is passionate, friendly, knowledgeable, and ready to help with whatever your conservation or preservation needs may be.
The ICA is a wonderful organization staffed by dedicated professionals who work with the general public as well as collecting institutions large and small. It is committed to preserving the cultural heritage of Ohio and surrounding states and educating the community about the importance of historic preservation. Because of its non-profit, educational mandate, over the course of the year it provides numerous free consultations over the phone, in person, and onsite as well as internship opportunities and numerous public programs at no charge. I am very proud of the work my colleagues and I have done at the ICA over the past 18 years.
Arts and culture collections in the Midwest, though demographically distant from the important East and West Coasts, have embedded narratives that are nationally and/or internationally far-reaching and relevant, as well as intellectually, emotionally, or economically noteworthy for cities, towns, or regions.
ICA has significant experience working with these—collections for which our notions of preservation must exceed the acts of simply stabilizing, cleaning, and enabling safe and climate-controlled display conditions. These collections by their nature require audiences to be able to make the connections among objects and the larger world of ideas in which they exist.
ICA has worked extensively with libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, repositories, galleries, performing arts organizations, governmental and public agencies at all levels, academic institutions, and other collection stewards in our region since our founding in 1952 to ensure that collections are preserved for this purpose.
Three collections, described below, indicate some of the depth and breadth of this work with humanities collections.
ICA is working at the Cranbrook Educational Community, to assess the contents of all the historic house museums on the campus. Cranbrook, located near Detroit in Bloomfield Hills, MI, holds a central position in the scholarship and study of the history of modern art, architecture, design, and material culture. Cranbrook’s campus is on the National Register of Historic Places and among those who lived, worked, and taught at Cranbrook are ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, fabric artist Mary Walker Phillips, animator Susan Pitts, and Columbian artist Olga de Amaral. Architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Rafael Moneo, and Albert Kahn all had hands in shaping the learning and physical environment. (https://www/nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d1.htm).
ICA conservators have worked closely with the Missouri Capital Arts Commission to survey and conserve the murals of the Capital Building in Jefferson City, MO. Among the many stories told in the building is the narrative of Missouri’s relationship with the mighty Mississippi River, the waterway that allowed the state to function as the nexus of activities for people and goods moving east and west across the country in the 19th century. (https://www/youtube.com/watch?v=uYm6axT79Hc).
In ICA’s home state of Ohio, we have a long history with the Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the private foundation that preserves the experimental farm and home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield (http://www.malabarfarm.org). Bromfield’s estate includes paintings by Grandma Moses (he wrote the introduction to the first catalog of her works), a replica of a late 1930s suite at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City (built for his business manager who didn’t like to leave New York City, complete with shutters to block out “nature”); and first edition books given to the author by Gertrude Stein, Edith Wharton, Edna Ferber, Margaret Wilson, and many others.
ICA works consistently to transform its relationships with the over 3,000 organizations it has worked with from one of providing unique and hard to find conservation services, to one of partnership--partnerships based on the use of current preventive care and best practice information combined with organization-specific individual consultation to help determine the priorities. In this way organizations can plan for and allocate their scarce resources to maximize the best care and outcomes for their collections.
ICA-Art Conservation is committed to helping the community consulting on collections care. All you have to do is set up an appointment and receive a FREE consultation on caring for your great-grandmother's needlepoint. They give free printouts, resources, and presentations on how to care for your things at home. The staff is so friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable in all things conservation, preservation, and restoration.
Intermuseum Conservation Association (ICA) is such an amazing organization. The conservators are so passionate about their art and have a love for sharing it with all who will listen. ICA is also doing a great job at reaching out to the community with their education and outreach program. If you haven't had a tour, you should put this on your list of places visit (of course call first), then grab a bit to eat at one the many cool places in Hinge town.
The ICA is an amazing organization that aims to educate and engage the community regarding art conservation and its role in preserving our cultural and artistic heritage for all of us.
Review from Guidestar
The Intermuseum Conservation Association appears to receive substantial revenue from fee-based services based on my review of its 990 reports, offering the very same art conservation services as so many similar for-profit enterprises today and offers the kinds of pro-bono services to the public, on-going professional research, and educational opportunities (internships) as some for-profit conservation service providers whose business success can support these public service activities. Therefore, it may be expected that, like any successful business providing art conservation services, many of these public benefit pro-bono services can be provided by either non-profit and for-profit entities alike entirely from fee-based service revenue. Art conservation services outside of in-house museum departments today are mostly provided by for-profit commercial enterprises, many of which self-fund the expected professional contributions to public outreach, basic professional advancement research and aid to those who can not fully pay. Many decades ago, conservation centers such as the Intermuseum Conservation Laboratory operated by the Intermuseum Conservation Association were pioneers in the basics of conservation research and the promotion of conservation awareness and were in need of granted funding to support these activities of a fledgling profession. Nowadays, the growth of for-profit and similar providers of art conservation services have grown immensely and the public and museum communities are now well educated on preservation. This makes the old non-profit model of an art conservation center appear like a dinosaur today, yet they keep begging for financial support that a number of art conservation businesses have proven is unnecessary. On this basis, The Intermuseum Conservation Association seems less a reasonable candidate for General Operating Support in these times. However, the Intermuseum Conservation Association offers valuable programs that can not normally be funded from the revenue of for-profit art conservation services providers and therefore the Intermuseum Conservation Association is deserving of consideration of program-based funding.
Review from Guidestar